Advaitic Songs
Advaitic Songs is the fifth studio album by Om, released circa July 2012 via Drag City Records. Further exploring influences of Abrahamism and Eastern Orthodox religions to scratch the surface, Advaitic Songs displays a wider range of influences to the music and lyrics, driving the band's sound into experimental rock with elements of Sanskrit, Middle Eastern Folk, Dub and Psychedelic Rock to scratch the surface. While attaining a mixed reception it would be retroactively praised among fans of the group and their most notable release throughout the 2010s. The album's name is derived from the Advaita — the identity of the Self and the Whole. Background While touring in 2009 in support of Om's fourth album God Is Good, Om had begun work on a fifth studio album, with an early version of "Sinai" being worked into the setlist as early as the fall of 2009.Setlist.fm Om's touring cycle would slow in 2010 and more significantly in 2011, with Sleep having reformed for sporadic shows and Grails touring through 2011 in support of Deep Politics. Om would return to Electrical Audio in 2011 to record their fifth album, working again with Steve Albini as engineer and producer. On 5 April 2012 Advaitic Songs would be announced, revealing the cover art, tracklist and release date of 24 July 2012.Consequence of Sound On 22 June 2012 one of the songs would be premiered in "State of Non-Return".The Sleeping Shaman Another song in "Gethsemene" would premiere on 3 July 2012, further promoting the album.NPR A music video for "State of Non-Return" would be uploaded to Drag City's YouTube on 31 October. Upon it's release on 24 July Advaitic Songs would be released on Digipak CD, 45RPM Double Vinyl and Cassette. As with Pilgrimage and God Is Good, Advaitic Songs' album cover again visits Abrahamic Iconography. The cover of Advaitic Songs features an image of John the Baptist. Also of note is while Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe was a full-time third member at the time of the band's recording and release, only the duo of Cisneros and Amos are credited on the back cover while Lowe is credited among the guest and session musicians. Critical reception for Advaitic Songs have largely been positive though some reviewers would not be as receptive. Notable stand-out praise would come from the likes of Consequence of Sound, describing the album as "something like a religious ecstasy" and describe it as "an album for metalheads and the metal-curious alike".Consequence of Sound The Guardian, giving four out of five stars, also heavily praised the record as "a hugely seductive mix of droning strings, tablas, chants and melodies (both eastern and western) woven together in a hazy melange of rock at its most languorous", closing out by stating "Yes, it's really that good."The Guardian Notably critical reviewers of Advaitic Songs included Pitchfork, while observing Cisneros' chess expertise and their influences of Sufism, Catholicism, and Hinduism, the notorious critics gave it a 5.2/10, describing the album as "they're pan-global mystical music for the heavy-metal demographic." while criticizing the band's more expansive sound.Pitchfork No Rip Cord rated the album 7/10 and described the album's sound as "flat" while not being wholly fond of the clean production.No Rip Cord Brainwashed, while praising the album, questioned the band's "reluctance to get visceral, lock into extended grooves, or play to their strengths", also describing the record as "uneven".Brainwashed Further praise would elicit from the likes of The Obelisk, ("Om persist in crafting personal statements out of the intangible, and Advaitic Songs makes fools of those who’ve been unable to acclimate themselves to their growth over the last half-decade. It is luminescent.")The Obelisk Metal Injection ("This album is stunning, not only in aesthetic beauty but in its experimentalistic lyrical dexterity and deep spiritualism. Even the song names yield meanings that hint at an ordering designed to be as organic as the music itself.")Metal Injection and NME ("Brain-rinsingly psychedelic without needing to tell you about it, they deserve to sit at the table with Current 93 and post-Syd/pre-stadium Pink Floyd.").NME Tracklist *1. "Addis" – 5:32 *2. "State of Non-Return" – 6:05 *3. "Gethsemane" – 10:23 *4. "Sinai" – 10:19 *5. "Haqq al-Yaqin" – 11:24 Personnel Om *'Al Cisneros' - Bass, Vocals, Piano, Percussion *'Emil Amos' – Drums, Guitar, Piano, Percussion *'Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe' - Additional Vocals, Tambura on ″Gethsemane" and ″Sinai" Additional Musicians *'Kate Ramsey' - Vocals (1) *'Jackie Perez Gratz' - Cello (1, 2, 4, 5) *'Lucas Chen' - Additional Cello (1) *'Jory Fankuchen' - Viola, Violin (1 - 3, 5) *'Lorraine Rath' - Flute (5) *'Homnath Upadhyaya' - Tabla (5) Additional Personnel *'Steve Albini' - Engineer, Producer *'Salvador Raya' - Engineer *'Brandon Eggleston' - Engineer *'David V. D'andrea' - Illustration (Disc) *'John Golden' - Mastering *'Jay Pellicci' - Recording Extended Links *Review via Metal Storm *Review via The Sludgelord *Review via Drowned in Sound *Review via The Arts Desk *Review via Louder Than War *Review via Treble Zine *Review via The Quietus References Category:Release Category:Studio Album Category:Al Cisneros Category:Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe Category:Emil Amos Category:Om Category:Dub Category:Middle Eastern Folk Category:Stoner Metal Category:Psychedelic Rock Category:Experimental Category:Drag City Category:2012 Category:Steve Albini Category:Drone